Click here to view an 8-minute video of the key findings.
As COVID infections fall, public concern over COVID wanes, and commutes to work and school resume, Nielsen announced last week that American AM/FM radio listening has increased to new highs in the October 2021 48 Portable People Meter markets.
Here is what you need to know:
- The 22-month Google search trends for the term “COVID” have sunk to near-record lows
- Consumers are on the road in their cars: Geopath reports U.S. October 2021 miles traveled were +7% greater than October 2019; Apple Maps says October 2021 driving search volumes surged +59% past pre-COVID levels
- U.S. AM/FM radio had its strongest reach performance since COVID, recovering 99% of the March 2020 PPM cume audience in PPM markets
- Nielsen October 2021 PPM AQH audiences rose to 96% of March 2020 levels, the second best showing since the pandemic
- Morning audiences exploded to their highest levels in 20 months; Versus a year ago, women 25-54 AQH increased +20% and teen AQH rose a massive +74%
- Black and Hispanic AQH among persons 18-49 and persons 25-54 increased +4% to +8% versus a year ago
- Format shares were stable with Sports stations notching a record post-COVID high
- Nielsen’s September continuous diary markets showed stable audience trends as markets ranked 50+ never saw any COVID impact to audiences
The 22-month Google search trends for the term “COVID” have sunk to near-record lows
Google Trends are one of the most powerful and no cost methods of determining consumer interest. The act of searching on a term is hard evidence of consumer engagement and interest.
Input a search term into Google Trends, like COVID or a brand/category, and a report will track consumer interest over time. The period with the largest search activity is set at a 100 index and all other periods are compared to that high point.
According to the 22-month Google Trends Report for COVID searches, in January/February 2020, there were few Google searches on the term COVID. In March 2020, Google searches for COVID exploded and then subsided in May 2020.
A second wave of COVID search volumes occurred in June 2020 and then fell off the rest of summer into September. In October 2020, a third wave of COVID search volumes reached their highest point and remained elevated until April 2021 when search activity began dropping.
In July 2021, concerns over the Delta variant pushed up search volumes again in a fourth wave, which peaked in August 2021. All through September and into October 2021, COVID search volumes have sharply fallen. As of late October 2021, COVID Google searches are down -69% from the peak of consumer interest with a 31 index.
Geopath: U.S. October 2021 miles traveled were +7% greater than October 2019
Geopath, the Nielsen of outdoor advertising industry, tracks vehicular miles traveled. Comparing monthly traffic volumes to the same month in 2019 illustrates changes in American travel due to COVID.
From March 2020 to March 2021, miles traveled lagged behind 2019. Since April 2021, miles traveled recovered and matched pre-COVID benchmarks. In October 2021, U.S. miles traveled grew +7% versus October 2019.
Apple Maps: Driving search volumes surge past pre-COVID levels
Since the onset of the pandemic, Apple Maps has depicted search volumes for driving, walking, and public transit trips for cities and many countries. These travel search volumes are indexed to the pre-COVID data of January 13, 2020. Click here to trend your city, state, or country.
The April 2020 lockdown caused a sharp drop in Apple Maps driving searches. This drop was short lived.
By June 2020, Apple Maps driving searches soared past pre-COVID levels into Fall 2020. The COVID upsurge of November 2020 through February 2021 reduced driving but still matched pre-COVID norms.
In March 2021, driving search volumes exploded again and have remained elevated through the most recent month. Versus pre-COVID, October 2021 driving searches were +59% greater. Americans are back on the road in their cars.
U.S. AM/FM radio had its strongest reach performance since COVID, recovering 99% of the March 2020 PPM cume audience in PPM markets
The strong recovery in miles traveled and driving has powered AM/FM radio listening recovery. Since the onset of the pandemic, Nielsen has reported listening in their PPM and diary markets benchmarked against March 2020.
The just-released 48 PPM markets reveal October 2021 cume listening was 99% of March 2020 volumes.
Morning audiences exploded to their highest levels in 20 months; Versus a year ago, women 25-54 AQH increased +20% and teen AQH rose a massive +74%
Monday-Friday 6AM-10AM AQH audiences in October 2021 saw a year-over-year growth of +20% among women 25-54 and an eye-popping +74% increase among teens. The resumption of in-person schooling has increased in-car audiences significantly. Total morning persons 6+ cume was up +12% in October 2021 compared to October 2020.
Versus September 2021, October 2021 PPM morning listening was also up. Persons 18-34 grew +7% and persons 25-54 increased +6%.
Nielsen October 2021 PPM AQH audiences rose to 96% of March 2020 levels, the second best showing since the pandemic
Black and Hispanic AQH among persons 18-49 and persons 25-54 increased +4% to +8% versus a year ago
Format shares were stable with Sports stations notching a record post-COVID high
Nielsen’s September continuous diary markets showed stable audience trends as markets ranked 50+ never saw any COVID impact to audiences
Key takeaways:
- The 22-month Google search trends for the term “COVID” have sunk to near-record lows
- Consumers are on the road in their cars: Geopath reports U.S. October 2021 miles traveled were +7% greater than October 2019; Apple Maps says October 2021 driving search volumes surged +59% past pre-COVID levels
- U.S. AM/FM radio had its strongest reach performance since COVID, recovering 99% of the March 2020 PPM cume audience in PPM markets
- Nielsen October 2021 PPM AQH audiences rose to 96% of March 2020 levels, the second best showing since the pandemic
- Morning audiences exploded to their highest levels in 20 months; Versus a year ago, women 25-54 AQH increased +20% and teen AQH rose a massive +74%
- Black and Hispanic AQH among persons 18-49 and persons 25-54 increased +4% to +8% versus a year ago
- Format shares were stable with Sports stations notching a record post-COVID high
- Nielsen’s September continuous diary markets showed stable audience trends as markets ranked 50+ never saw any COVID impact to audiences
Click here to view an 8-minute video of the key findings.
Pierre Bouvard is Chief Insights Officer at CUMULUS MEDIA | Westwood One and President of the CUMULUS MEDIA | Westwood One Audio Active Group.
Contact the Insights team at CorpMarketing@westwoodone.com.
